We all have a reason to live: Red Dead Redemption | By : Starliteyes24 Category: +M through R > Red Dead Redemption Views: 3771 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption nor do I make profit from the making of this story |
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A bead of sweat trickles slowly down the side of John's filthy face but he doesn't have time to worry about it. He's busy teaching his boy how to build a barn and he starts by showing him how to repair the one they already have. There's a lot of work that needs to be done around the ranch and John could use the extra pair of hands and it is a good learning experience for Jack. John holds up the pieces of wood while Jack nails them into place against the rest of the barn.
"What is it boy?" John asks and looks down at Jack, who seems to be frozen in place, hands flat against the wood. Jack only sighs and bends over to reach for the next piece of wood from the hay pile and almost forgets that John even says anything to him.
John uses the back of his hand to wipe away sweat and shrugs and continues on his work. This time he has Jack hold the pieces of wood in place while he hammers. Sometimes John did question his handy work. This barn of his was not even two years old yet and it's falling apart all over the god damn place so it's a good thing Abigail talks him into getting it repaired or at least tries to. Even being hidden and shaded underneath the roof of the barn, every movement just seems to make John sweat more. Only tiny rays of sunlight breaks through the cracks but not enough to burn the skin.
Jack picks up another large piece of wood with both hands and slams it up against the barn wall. John's reaction is calm and subtle. "Somethin's on your mind," he says loud enough, and keeps his focus on the wood siding. Jack quickly moves his hands out of the way while John hammers and he takes a seat on one of the hay bales. Metal against metal is not a pleasant sound but it isn't hard to get used to. Jack sighs again and stares at his shoes between his knees. John finishes up hammering the nails in and tries to give his son all of his attention. John hikes his boot up onto the hay bale and leans forward into his knee. He gazes at his son with some confusion but far more worry.
"Talk to me Jack, what is it that's botherin' you?" John simply asks and he knows he isn't good at being a father but he is doing his best. Jack stays quiet for a moment before he lifts his chin and stares into the eyes of his father. The look in his sweet baby blues just hurts John and it's a sign that something is clearly bothering the boy.
"When is ma' goin' to get better?" is all the young man says and it's all that John needs to understand why Jack's been acting strange these past few weeks. John goes stiff and stratches the back of his ear. He swallows the hard lump in his dry throat and gives his boy the only answer he knows at the moment. "I'm hoping real soon Jack," John answers with a soft tone and rests a hand on Jack's shoulder while he looks down at the stray pieces of hay sticking out from the bale. At this point, nothing but chirping birds is all they could hear. Removing his hand, John moves away from Jack and continues to work on the barn. Jack stands up quietly and leaves his father's side.
John doesn't want to sound or look upset at Abigail's sudden sickness around Jack but as he watches the boy leave, his breathing picks up and so does his movements. The man lifts up his dirty sleeves until the girth of his bicep stops him from going up any further and he picks up another thick piece of wood with both hands and slams it hard against the wall. He's angry and it's starting to show through; John doesn't like to be a rough, angry man and normally he is far from it or at least not to the point of going completely mad but he has times when he's very pissy. It's usually hard to keep it all in. Now that Abigail is sick he has no idea how to pass all of this damn time.
The morning sun seems to grow even hotter and brighter as the day continues on and John doesn't enjoy any of the time he spends out in it. After patching up the hole in the barn, John retrieves his hat from the large hay pile further inside the barn and marches on towards the house. He desperately needs to see that kind doctor again. John can't help but worry every day and night for Abigail's random weakness and pains.
He makes his way into the house and carefully closes the door behind him. Jack is found sitting in his father's chair reading another one of his books and John takes in the sight before him and begins to shake. He loves Jack more than his own life but the picture he sees now, just the two of them, how was John ever going to make it without that woman?
John leaves the family room and heads for the bedroom. Before he's even in the hallway, he could hear Abigail cough up a wild storm and it only brings him down. It has been so long since John's last touched her and kissed her. All the love they used to share in those cotton sheets was nothing but painful memories John desperately wants to relive again, just once before he loses that wild woman of his. When he put his hand to the door and opens it half way, he slides inside quietly as he could but the heels and spurs on his boots make it kind of hard against the wood floor boards.
Whatever it is that Abigail has was something John should probably stay away from but it's too hard for him to just sit in his chair, have a cigarette and even drink without seeing her face. His eyes found hers and he fakes a convincing smile. She lays awfully still in bed, her body hidden underneath the sheets. There are terrible dark circles around her eyes and her tinted skin is now as white as the moon.
John continues to get close and ends up stopping beside her. "Hey darlin', how you feelin'?" John asks and he already knows the answer to the idiotic question of his. Abigail just gives her wrist a flick and turns her head in the opposite direction of his. John slowly reaches out to her clothed arm but she pulls it sluggishly away and demands him to leave. Her voice, the loud, crazy voice of hers is nothing but weak crackles.
John isn't at all confused or hurt by Abigail's rejection but now that she's bedridden, the woman still wants nothing to do with her loyal man. It angers him a bit but it mostly just hurts deeply. John doesn't want to give up on Abigail but she is making it so damn easy for him to. He did as he is told and leaves the room. John leaves the door cracked and in the kitchen he bumps into Jack near the stove top. John curiously peeks up over the boy's shoulder and finds a nice boiling pot of potato soup. He smiles at the boy's ability to cook, since John has little to no experience in the kitchen. "If you want some you are gonna' have to wait, I'm givin' ma' the first bowl," Jack says out loud so John can understand and the man backs off and takes a seat at the table.
Jack grabs a bowl from the cupboards above the stove and carefully pours the steaming soup. John just sits there at the table, points out cracks in the wooden surface with his short nails and counts all the scars both of his hands possess. Jack quietly leaves the kitchen and John sits there without a word. He leans himself back into the chair and it earns him a soft creak. Over this past month John notices the weight he has put on and it is not enough to notice a difference but he knows; drinking is what he likes to do and it's a hard habit to kick.
John doesn't eat tonight. As soon as the sunset dies down and the cool breeze follows after, he makes his way to the outside, onto the porch and listens to the sound of his spurs hitting the wood as well as echoing barks coming from Rufus. His horse isn't too noisy tonight which is a good thing. John leans forward into the wooden railing and pulls out a cigarette stick from his quickly emptying pack.
Along with it he pulls out his match box and he expertly lights the cigarette. Once he presses the butt to his lips, he inhales all of the dangerous fumes and feels the thick smoke wrap tightly around his lungs. It burns but he is used to that. He then exhales and stares off into the distance, thinks about Abigail and Jack, feeling somewhat guilty and ashamed.
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